Fundraiser

Julie is a Disabled Navy Veteran that is a survivor of military sexual trauma, university rape, and childhood rape. She has Complex Post Traumatic Stress. She pays for her own counseling and will not go to the VA because of what has happened to her when she has went there.

In 2015, Julie wrote her first nonfiction autobiography book called, The Boulders of my Life That Shaped My Journey under the pen name Honey Badger that is published by Author House. Her most exciting work to date was having Grief and Rising published in the journal Blue Nostalgia http://militaryexperience.org/grief-and-rising/ . She has been involved with tweeting, calling and emailing Senators and Representatives. Also, she has helped to communicate on social media about Vet’s Rising/One Billion and Rising.

She found her way to a Nia Jam for One Billion and Rising and found that she loves to dance. She did not know what Nia was and had never have heard of it. She walked into the studio and met all of these lovely women that were excited about dancing and made her feel welcomed. The music started and she started dancing. Immediately, she realized that she was home and that Nia was awesome.

Nia has helped her to be able to feel. It has helped her to come back into her body and helping her to heal on a deeper level. Nia is teaching her that she does not need to leave her body. It’s teaching her that she is safe to feel what she needs to feel and express what she is feeling. Most important, it is doing what therapy has not been able to do and allow her to excess feelings that she just cannot talk about.

She took Nia White belt in July at Joy of Movement with an awesome trainer. That was an awesome experience because by doing white belt she developed a relationship with my body. She started to realize that she did not need to be ashamed of her body and that she can love my body. She learned where she holds feelings and memories from what she has been through. She learned instead of criticizing and hating the parts of herself, to accept and love those parts. She realizes that she is coming back to herself.

In September, she took Green Belt with Stephaney and that helped her to understand the music better and how to move her body. Once again, she developed a sense of her body and where she hold memories at. She learned how to listen to the music and to que on the three to six. She learned to just try and that she does not have to be perfect.

She loves Nia. Nia is helping her to heal from Post-Traumatic Stress. It’s helping her to be able to feel feelings that have been locked inside. It’s given her sisters and friends that truly care about her and she cares about them. It’s helped her to have a relationship with her body and to start to love her body.

Also she wrote the following poem called Becoming One With Myself:

“Learning to become one with myself
Has been a long grueling process,
I have worn many masks along the way,
Tried to fit into what other people expected me to be,
Wanted me to be,
Tried to ignore the feelings that are deep inside,
Tried to ignore what has happened in my life,
But along my healing journey, I have learned that what happened to me
Was not my fault, It’s their fault,
They committed a crime and tried to destroy me,
But instead they have turned me into a warrior,
It’s my greatest challenge to not let them ruin my life, to take my power back,
And the gift that this healing journey has given me,
Is made me into the person I am today.

Learning to become one with myself means that
I accept what has happened throughout my life,
To make who I am today,
I do not like that I had to go through all of the trauma and pain,
But now I am a person that can read other people, pick up
On things that are not said, more compassionate,
With other people can understand what others cannot,
Because they have not been there,
Am able to listen and be there for myself and others.

I am starting to live the life that I have
always dreamed of,
To be the person that is inside,
To see the person that my friends and family see inside of me!
To be the warrior that I have become
To keep raising my voice and speak for those that are not
Able to speak yet!!”

She needs our help to continue her therapy. Please donate to her for her bravery, activism, and honesty in sharing her story with the world.

Thank you so much for taking the time to view this page
Please contribute to her cause as a thank you for her honesty, compassion, and activism.

Share this:

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

Author: shellback0608

Julie "Jewels" is an Author, Poet, Nia Blue Belt, Green Belt, White Belt dance instructor, Reiki Jin Kei Do Energy Healer, and advocate. When she is not writing, you can find her learning new Nia routines, listening to healing music, taking photographs, playing with her dog and spending time with her friends and family.
View all posts by shellback0608